Jeff Bzdelik hasn’t done much to endear himself to the Wake Forest fan base during his three seasons as the Deacons basketball coach. The move he made Tuesday, however, might help smooth over at least some of the hard feelings.

By hiring Randolph Childress as his new assistant coach, Bzdelik not only adds some new blood to a program desperate for positive change, but also brings back one of the most successful and beloved players in school history.

Childress, who spent the past two seasons as Wake’s Director of Player Development, will replace Walt Corbean on Bzdelik’s staff. Corbean was let go after six seasons with the Deacons. Childress’ new position will allow him to work directly with the players and take an active role in recruiting, two areas in which he was not allowed to contribute in his previous position.

“This was a tough decision to make, but we felt it was necessary to bring in a fresh perspective to our coaching staff on the court,” Bzdelik said in a statement announcing Childress’ hiring. “Walt has made great contributions to the program and we wish him nothing but the best.”

Childress played for the Deacons from 1990-95, earning All-America honors in both his junior and senior seasons. He is the school’s all-time leader in 3-point field goals and his 2,208 career points rank second in school history.

He is probably best remembered for putting together one of the greatest individual performances in ACC tournament history while leading Wake to the first of two straight league titles in 1995.

Following his career with the Deacons, Childress played 16 professional seasons, including two in the NBA with the Portland Trailblazers and Detroit Pistons. His jersey No. 22 is one of 10 retired by the Deacons.

“It’s been a dream,” Childress told the web site BloggerSoDear. “It’s been an amazing ride so far and it continues to get better. I’m trying to keep it all in perspective and continue to work. It’s no time for celebration, it’s just time to get to work.”

@Brett- Not to sound cynical but the fact is Bzdelik would have been fired at any other school after overseeing the 3 worst seasons of history at WF. The fact that he is Wellman’s best friend and that he single handily chose him without any search committee is indisputable. Elevating Childress is a smart move because he will definitely improve the players talent level; and teach them how to be winners like him; but it also is a move to buy Bzdelik more time with what little fan base is left for WF basketball. Randolph will not help the W-L record as long as Bzdelik is the head coach!